FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman said Wednesday that he is hopeful defensive tackle Taurean Carter will return to game action before the end of the season.
Carter, a 6-3, 294-pound redshirt junior, was one of the team’s break-out players during spring practice before injuring his knee. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported May 7 that Carter had undergone an undisclosed knee surgery the day before.
Pittman said the best-case scenario for Carter’s return is for the Razorbacks’ final two regular-season games against Ole Miss and at Missouri.
“I think we'll definitely get him back if we qualify for a bowl,” Pittman said, “but we're trying to press toward maybe the last couple of games of the year. We'll see how that works, but that would be probably the earliest.”
Arkansas (4-3, 1-3 SEC) must win two of its final five games to qualify for a bowl. The Razorbacks are scheduled to play next on Oct. 29 at Auburn.
Pittman said he expects all of the Razorbacks’ injured players back for the Auburn game, with the exception of defensive backs Jalen Catalon and LaDarrius Bishop, who suffered season-ending injuries in September.
Arkansas missed defensive backs Myles Slusher, Jayden Johnson and Khari Johnson, and reserve offensive linemen Ty’kieast Crawford and Marcus Henderson during the Razorbacks’ 52-35 victory at BYU last week. Slusher has missed multiple games this season.
This week’s open date is also allowing several Arkansas players to heal minor injuries, Pittman said.